The Treasures of Quito - written by Eric Castro

The old cultures of Quito discovered the astronomic and metaphysical value of the middle of the earth 800 or 900 years before the arrival of the French geodesic mission in the 18th century.

Such it is, that using GPS has been determined that the official place of the Middle of the World is found at more than 2 Km of distance of the Incas platforms of Catequilla, created 800 years before.

They exist besides several platforms along the valley of Guayllabamba, connected among if by invisible lines that creates an authentic astronomical observatory and also they have a great cultural astronomical complex at Cochasqui pyramids.

The archaeological place of Cochasqui, possesses several pyramids whose end even is relatively unknown although associates a lot to the divinity of the sun and the moon that the Inca pre towns worshipped.

The "Panecillo" was sacred for the aborigines due to its location, so great and form that characterize him as a prominent milestone of the Andean landscape in which Quito is found, whose place was chosen after a deep research carried out by these tribes.

Next to the hill they created an enormous center ceremonial civic-religious whose rites surely were presided since their top. Soon the ceremonial center became the embryo of the present one Quito and grew until competing with the Cuzco.

In the "Panecillo", the aborigines built an extensive road ritual torn around its skirts to elevate in spiral and organized in processions to a temple platform located in its top, layout that is the same one of the present street Aymerich adapted to the present demands.

Those works show that the Yavirac was interpreted as a gigantic pyramid, a gigantic and expressive sacred, austere, majestic and imposing volume. Its size as such is unique in the globe and, therefore, deserves fully to be rescued and exalted.

As Cultural Patrimony of the Humanity, Quito has collected a numerous group of architectural and cultural attractions that become an authentic treasure in the Andes. The great extension of their equivalent colonial buildings to 188 apples of houses of the colonial period with averages from among 100 to 300 years of antiquity they do of Quito an incomparable city to discover it in their colonial architecture

Quito has in a single street 7 crosses and equal number of churches, the old culture of the "KITO CARAS" that inhabited the zone and the subsequent conquerors built 7 churches to eliminate the not catholic worships.

This makes of the historic center a place to visit in Quito, the churches of the historic center in the city, they were built on native settlements that had great connection with the astronomical observation, by which during the solsticios of summer each year can be observed, do of sunlight that they illuminate very specific points in the churches as the company of Jesus, the Cathedral of Quito, the church of San Agustin and others.

The distribution of the ornaments inside the churches and its establishment in the land was developed so that these natural events could be given to help catholic religion to be impose to the native communities.

The temples created during the colony are of great value for the city that because of their treasure pieces as by the laborious action of artists that created the baroque colonial of Latin America, these artists formed the famous "Quite�a" School, converting these churches in real museums, some of these skillful artists were Manuel Chili, better known as Caspicara; Miguel of Santiago, Nicolas Javier of Gor�bar, Manuel Samaniego, Jose Elms and Bernardo Of Legarda.